Millwall’s Gary Rowett on offside before Palace goal – but boss more concerned with defending

 

MILLWALL boss Gary Rowett felt his side’s poor start to the second half cost them as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace.

Rowett was disappointed that the Lions followed up a first half in which they were the better team and had the lead through Benik Afobe’s goal with a slow start to the second to allow Palace to equalise a minute after the break through Michael Olise.

Olise then crossed in the 58th minute for Jean-Philippe Mateta to head home what proved to be the winner.

Rowett felt Mateta was offside in the build-up to the first goal, but the Lions manager was more focused on his side’s defending.

“I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well for the vast majority of the game,” Rowett said. “In the first half we started really well. You knew that with the atmosphere at The Den it was all about trying to make it a really quick, aggressive start.

“We did that quite well, we looked really assured as a team first half in and out of possession. We scored a very good goal, we worked a little bit on when we could get higher up the pitch and put pressure on. Jack Butland just takes a little bit of time on the ball and we manage to pinch it off him and score a good goal.

“I thought we looked fine first half, I was really pleased when we came in at half-time. Second half what you can’t do against a Premier League side, or any side, is start like that. We can’t allow Olise time on the ball.

“I think there is an offside in the build-up when the ball goes into the striker, I think Matetea is just offside, but then you can’t allow Olise to come inside the pitch. He’s left-footed, you’ve got to force him outside, and it was a poor goal for us to concede.

Then after that we conceded another poor goal when Olise again comes inside, chips a ball into the box and we’ve got two players in there against their two and we allow a free header.

“Disappointing but I was pleased with the response afterwards. It was just whether we could go and get that second goal, really.

“When you’re playing against a Premier League side that goes so strong and then brings on the likes of [Christian] Benteke and [Odsonne] Édouard you know that it’s going to be a game where you have to maintain it for 90 minutes. You can’t drop your guard, you can’t make mistakes because they’ve got players who can punish those mistakes.

“That 10-, 15-minute spell [after half-time], yes they upped their game, yes they attacked with more intensity but I would expect us to be able to maintain that in the 46th, 47th minute. If it happens in the 80th minute when we’re a little bit fatigued then I can half-expect that.

“But to make those mistakes so early in the second half was a little bit disappointing because it just took the shine off what was a pretty good performance overall.”

Taken from News at Den

https://newsatden.co.uk/83056-millwalls-gary-rowett-on-offside-before-palace-goal-but-boss-more-concerned-with-defending/

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